School board weighing options

Building needs for Washington, Clay are costly.

Building needs for Washington, Clay are costly.

December 13, 2009|JOSEPH DITS Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Superintendent James Kapsa sees it as "brainstorming" over what to do with the building needs of Clay and Washington high schools. At Monday's board meeting, school officials will present different options that the South Bend Community School Corp. has. If an addition is built at Washington to alleviate crowding, as some parents wish, it could cost several million dollars. That, officials say, could mean raising taxes -- an option some trustees are reluctant to take. That lofty of an expense also could mean getting voters' approval a year from now in a referendum. Kapsa said officials will talk about what can be done without raising taxes. Another idea the trustees may discuss to ease crowding, he said, is to "slightly" shift the high school boundaries, or redistrict. But in Friday's "Michiana Point of View" in The Tribune, board President Sheila Bergeron suggests thinking of "out of the box" ideas, like converting LaSalle back to a high school. No vote on the issue is planned for Monday. Meanwhile, Kapsa said, administrators have started looking into some immediate concerns from students and staff at recent hearings at Clay and Washington. For example, staff complained about water dripping onto Clay's auditorium stage. John Strauss, director of facilities management, said the problem is in ceiling vents that, in case of a fire, would let out the smoke. The rubber seals on those vents have deteriorated, he said. What would it cost to build a classroom addition and an athletic addition at Washington, plus other items on the school's list? The cost for the additions could range from about $4.5 million (seven classrooms) to about $7 million (13 classrooms), Strauss estimates. Costs, he said, could exceed $14 million if you take the 13-classroom addition and add other athletic improvements that have been sought, like a football stadium, a new soccer field, synthetic turf, remodeled athletic offices and gym bleachers. What options are there for funding? There's the school corporation's capital projects fund, but this money is becoming limited thanks to the state's recent property tax caps. Other than that, Kapsa said, the only other money available to the school corporation would be more than $430,000 for Clay, coming out of the $36 million bond that's also supporting construction and major renovations at Marquette and Monroe primary schools. Beyond that, the corporation could seek a bond. But new state rules say that, if a school bond is worth more than $2 million, it would have to go to voters in a referendum, Kapsa said. That is, it would go before voters on next November's ballot, Kapsa said. Explain the $36 million bond. The bond provides $500,000 each for Washington and Clay. Washington's allotment is nearly all spent, most of it going to an improved bus turnaround this summer, Strauss said. He said Clay's money has been pegged to improvements in its fine arts academy, where staff and students say they lack space and updated facilities. Just more than $61,000 of it has been allocated so far; the board recently approved using that amount to replace the auditorium's stage curtain, leaving more than $430,000. What about Monroe and Marquette? Construction costs alone are $10.2 million for the brand new Marquette and $16 million for the renovation and addition at Monroe. Strauss said the rest of the bond goes to an array of related expenses for the two buildings -- the technology to fill the schools, builder's risk insurance, architect fees, soil tests, site surveys and so on. Demolition of the old Marquette is also included in those extra expenses. How much has been spent on renovation and maintenance at Washington and Clay? Over the past 10 years, Strauss said, about $2.5 million has been spent on Clay and $16.5 million on Washington. For Washington, a chunk of that is $14 million that the board approved spending on the school several years ago. All of that has been spent in work that dates back to 2003, focusing on a list of repairs and renovations, he said.